My Pet Serial Killer reviewed at Atticus Review

My Pet Serial Killer is a complicated novel, but with a narrative that moves at such a quick pace, it’s hard to set down. Claire Wilkinson is a graduate student pursuing a degree in forensics, and as research for her thesis, she develops a plan to study a serial killer that has been targeting women in the area, named “The Gentleman Killer” by local media outlets. Claire doesn’t pester law enforcement or investigate the crimes to discover the killer’s identity. Rather, she uncovers who he is and forms a partnership with the man, named Victor. With her forensic expertise and his seemingly endless appetite for torture, murder, and dismemberment, they make the perfect pair. She keeps him safe, and in turn, she gets insight into what makes him tick. She transforms her apartment by soundproofing the walls, rigging it with cameras, and building a cage in which the killer can do whatever he wants with the women she chooses for him. For Claire, simply killing dozens of women is not good enough. The victims must be the right kind–they must have “fight” in them. She watches his every move, probing him about what the victims taste and feel like, criticizing what he does wrong, like an overbearing coach. As long as he does as she says, there is no way he will ever be caught, she tells him. Their relationship thrives as the body count climbs, and she studies him as they march toward serial killer immortality.